Media
Movies and other forms of fiction often employ this myth. Although they are works of fiction, they are another reason why this myth is so commonly believed.
Lucy - In the movie, the main character Lucy is given drugs so that she can access the full potential of the brain. Within a short amount of time, she was able to learn Chinese calligraphy, throw cars with her mind, and perform many other crazy feats Heroes - In the TV show, the myth is used to explain why some people have superpowers Other movies that use this myth include Limitless and Flight of a Navigator. |
How true is it?
Mythbusters have taken a look at the myth and "busted" it. But even when they proved it to be wrong, they implied that we only use 35% of the brain, which was also false.
Humans have access to 100% of the brain and we tend to use a good majority of it no matter what activity we're doing. |
Citations
Jarrett, C. (2014, July 24). All You Need To Know About the 10 Percent Brain Myth, in 60 Seconds. Retrieved August 31, 2016, from http://www.wired.com/2014/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-10-brain-myth-explained-in-60-seconds/
McDougle, S. (2014, July 16). Humans Already Use Way, Way More Than 10% of Their Brains. Retrieved August 31, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/you-already-use-way-way-more-than-10-percent-of-your-brain/374520/
Mikkelson, D. (2014, July 25). Do We Only Use Ten Percent of our Brains? Retrieved August 31, 2016, from http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp
Jarrett, C. (2014, July 24). All You Need To Know About the 10 Percent Brain Myth, in 60 Seconds. Retrieved August 31, 2016, from http://www.wired.com/2014/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-10-brain-myth-explained-in-60-seconds/
McDougle, S. (2014, July 16). Humans Already Use Way, Way More Than 10% of Their Brains. Retrieved August 31, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/you-already-use-way-way-more-than-10-percent-of-your-brain/374520/
Mikkelson, D. (2014, July 25). Do We Only Use Ten Percent of our Brains? Retrieved August 31, 2016, from http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percent.asp